International Development Events

The International Disasters Charter provides for the voluntary sharing of satellite imagery in the event of major disasters. Joanne Irene Gabrynowicz, JD, will address the contents, structure, and status of the Charter, and highlight its strengths and weaknesses with a focus on how it could develop in the future. She also will discuss data access and sharing issues. This event is co-hosted by the Commons Lab of the Science and Technology Innovation Program, Woodrow Wilson Center, Women in Aerospace, and the National Center for Remote Sensing, Air and Space Law, University of Mississippi School of Law.

This event was a frank conversation regarding the positive and negative aspects of these deals on the macro and micro level in Sub-Saharan Africa, considering 70% of contemporary large-scale land acquisitions are based in this region.

The IMF Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa, launched in Tokyo on October 12, 2012, highlights that economic conditions in the region have remained generally robust against the backdrop of a sluggish global economy. The near-term outlook for the region is also broadly positive: growth is projected at 5¼ percent a year through 2012–13. However, there is considerable diversity within the region, with low income countries and oil producers currently faring better than middle income countries closely linked to European markets.

Recognizing a need to strengthen the ties between urban policymaking and scholarly work on urban development, and to disseminate evidence-based programming, the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Comparative Urban Studies Project, USAID’s Urban Programs Team, the International Housing Coalition, Cities Alliance, and the World Bank co-sponsored a third annual academic paper competition, "Reducing Urban Poverty." Join us in a discussion with four of the winning authors as they receive commentary on their work by expert practitioners from the field.

The 18th Inuit Studies Conference will be held in Washington, D.C., from October 24 to October 28, 2012, across the Smithsonian campus on the National Mall. The conference will cover a broad spectrum of topics, including climate change and indigenous peoples; international cooperation in the Arctic; roles of museums and museum collections in preserving Inuit languages, heritage, and culture; governmental programs in the northern regions and their interactions with local communities; and Inuit cultural/political institutions.

Sherjan talks about her decades of work ensuring the education of women and girls in Afghanistan, including under the Taliban regime when she ran underground schools. She also discusses the serious challenges that remain in educating women and girls and explains how Americans can protect their investment in the country by continuing to advance educational opportunities for all Afghans.

“When I embarked on this series, I approached it as an environmental reporter: What does a growing number of us and growing consumption mean for our planet?” said Los Angeles Times reporter Ken Weiss at the Wilson Center on October 9. Weiss, along with photographer Rick Loomis, recently completed a five-part series and multimedia presentation on global population that was the culmination of a year of research and travel through more than six countries.

The Global Women’s Leadership Initiative and the Middle East Program at the Wilson Center and Amnesty International USA are pleased to invite you to a conversation with two remarkable Afghan women change-makers who will discuss the many challenges—and opportunities—facing women in Afghanistan today.